{{Short description|Any chemical used in agriculture}} {{For|the football club|Agrochemical F.C.}} [[File:Passaic Agricultural Chemical Works. 1876.jpg|thumb|The Passaic Agricultural Chemical Works in Newark, New Jersey, 1876]] An '''agrochemical''' or '''agrichemical''', a contraction of '''''agricultural chemical''''', is a chemical product used in conventional or industrial agriculture.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Jastrzębska |first1=Magdalena |title=Chapter 1 - Conventional agrochemicals: Pros and cons |date=2022-01-01 |work=Smart Agrochemicals for Sustainable Agriculture |pages=1–28 |editor-last=Chojnacka |editor-first=Katarzyna |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128170366000091 |access-date=2024-10-31 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-817036-6 |last2=Kostrzewska |first2=Marta |last3=Saeid |first3=Agnieszka |editor2-last=Saeid |editor2-first=Agnieszka}}</ref> Agrochemical typically refers to pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. The term agrochemical is sometimes used informally synonymously with pesticides, sometimes also informally to mean pesticides and fertilizers, and sometimes more correctly to include all chemicals used in agriculture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Curley |first=Robert |title=agrochemical, agricultural technology |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/agrochemical |access-date=24 June 2025 |website=Britannica (encyclopedia Britannica)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Agrochemical |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agrochemical |access-date=24 June 2025 |website=.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster}}</ref> Other chemicals used in agriculture are plant hormones and plant growth regulators (PGRs),<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Haas |first1=Hans-Ulrich |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527699261.ch13 |title=Modern Crop Protection Compounds |publisher=Wiley |year=2019 |isbn=9783527699261 |editor-last=Peter |editor-first=Jeschke |edition=3rd |publication-date=25 January 2019 |pages=571–584 |chapter=Chapter 12. New Aspects of Plant Regulators |doi=10.1002/9783527699261.ch29 |editor-last2=Witschel |editor-first2=Matthias |editor-last3=Krämer |editor-first3=Wolfgang |editor-last4=Schirmer |editor-first4=Ulrich}}</ref> insect attractants,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gregg |first1=Peter C. |last2=Del Socorro |first2=Alice P. |last3=Landolt |first3=Peter J. |date=2018-01-07 |title=Advances in Attract-and-Kill for Agricultural Pests: Beyond Pheromones |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-035040 |journal=Annual Review of Entomology |language=en |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=453–470 |doi=10.1146/annurev-ento-031616-035040 |pmid=29058978 |issn=0066-4170 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> insect repellents, plant defense inducers,<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last1=Toquin |first1=Valerie |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527699261.ch26 |title=Modern Crop Protection Compounds |last2=Braun |first2=Christoph A. |last3=Sirven |first3=Catherine |last4=Assmann |first4=Lutz |last5=Sawada |first5=Haruko |publisher=Wiley |year=2019 |isbn=9783527699261 |editor-last=Peter |editor-first=Jeschke |edition=3rd |publication-date=25 January 2019 |pages=959–978 |chapter=Chapter 26. Host Defense Inducers |doi=10.1002/9783527699261.ch26 |editor-last2=Witschel |editor-first2=Matthias |editor-last3=Krämer |editor-first3=Wolfgang |editor-last4=Schirmer |editor-first4=Ulrich}}</ref> herbicide safeners,<ref name=":023">{{Cite book |last1=Rosinger |first1=Chris |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527699261.ch8 |title=Modern Crop Protection Compounds |last2=Schulte |first2=Wolfgang |publisher=Wiley |year=2019 |isbn=9783527699261 |editor-last=Peter |editor-first=Jeschke |edition=3rd |publication-date=25 January 2019 |pages=425–450 |chapter=Chapter 8. Safeners for Herbicides |doi=10.1002/9783527699261.ch8 |editor-last2=Witschel |editor-first2=Matthias |editor-last3=Krämer |editor-first3=Wolfgang |editor-last4=Schirmer |editor-first4=Ulrich}}</ref> adjuvents and co-formulants,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hazra |first1=Dipak Kumar |last2=Purkait |first2=Aloke |date=2019 |title=Role of pesticide formulations for sustainable crop protection and environment management: A review |url=https://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2019.v8.i2.7684/role-of-pesticide-formulations-for-sustainable-crop-protection-and-environment-management-a-review |journal=Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=686–693}}</ref> soil conditioners and soil amendments,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Uzupis |first=Denise |title=Soil & Plant Amendments |url=https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/plants-land-water/plant-industry/agronomic-products/soil-and-plant-amendments.html |access-date=24 June 2025 |website=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, department of agriculture}}</ref> liming and acidifying agents. For livestock feed additives,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Djuragic |first1=Olivera |last2=Čabarkapa |first2=Ivana |last3=Milašinović Šeremešić |first3=Marija |last4=Rakita |first4=Slađana |last5=Tomičić |first5=Zorica |title=Sustainable Use of Feed Additives in Livestock |publisher=Springer |year=2023 |isbn=978-3-031-42854-8 |location= Cham, Switzerland |publication-date=2023 |pages=17–45 |chapter=Feed Additives, Their Role, and Technological Properties |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-42855-5_2 |editor-last1=Arsenos |editor-first1=Georgios |editor-last2=Giannenas |editor-first2=Ilias |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42855-5_2}}</ref> animal growth regulators,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Zachary K. |date=September 2024 |title=Overview of Growth Promotants and Production Enhancers in Animals |url=https://www.msdvetmanual.com/pharmacology/growth-promotants-and-production-enhancers/overview-of-growth-promotants-and-production-enhancers-in-animals |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=MSD Veterinary Manual}}</ref> anthelmintics<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claerebout |first=Edwin |date=April 2025 |title=Anthelmintic Drugs for Animals |url=https://www.msdvetmanual.com/pharmacology/anthelmintics/anthelmintic-drugs-for-animals?query=anthelmintics |access-date=26 June 2025 |website=MSD Veterinary Manual}}</ref> and other antiparasitics are used.
== Manufacture == Pesticides and fertilizers are manufactured differently. Nitrogen fertilizers are made from ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) produced by the Haber–Bosch process.<ref name="ETE">{{cite book |last=Smil |first=Vaclav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9FljcEASycC&pg=PA135 |title=Enriching the Earth |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-262-69313-4 |page=135}}</ref> Potassium <ref name="FertEncyl">Vasant Gowariker, V. N. Krishnamurthy, Sudha Gowariker, Manik Dhanorkar, Kalyani Paranjape "The Fertilizer Encyclopedia" 2009, John Wiley & Sons. {{ISBN|978-0-470-41034-9}}. Online {{ISBN|978-0-470-43177-1}}. {{doi|10.1002/9780470431771}}</ref> and phosphate<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cordell |first1=Dana |last2=Drangert |first2=Jan-Olof |last3=White |first3=Stuart |date=2009 |title=The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought |journal=Global Environmental Change |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=292–305 |bibcode=2009GEC....19..292C |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.009 |s2cid=1450932}}</ref> fertilizers are made from minerals. Most pesticides are made indirectly from petrochemicals,<ref name=":024">{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527699261 |title=Modern Crop Protection Compounds |publisher=Wiley |year=2019 |isbn=9783527699261 |editor-last=Peter |editor-first=Jeschke |edition=3rd |publication-date=25 January 2019 |doi=10.1002/9783527699261 |editor-last2=Witschel |editor-first2=Matthias |editor-last3=Krämer |editor-first3=Wolfgang |editor-last4=Schirmer |editor-first4=Ulrich}}</ref> some are made biologically.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sparks |first=Thomas C. |date=2023 |title=Natural Product-Based Crop Protection Compounds─Origins and Future Prospects |journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry |volume=71 |issue=5 |pages=2259–2269 |bibcode=2023JAFC...71.2259S |doi=10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06938 |pmid=36693160 |s2cid=256230724}}</ref>
== Market and amounts used == Total pesticides use in agriculture in 2021 was 3.54 million tonnes of active ingredients.user.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Pesticides use and trade 1990–2021 |url=https://www.fao.org/3/cc6958en/cc6958en.pdf |access-date=January 15, 2024 |website=Food and agricultural organisation of the united nations}}</ref> In 2018 world pesticide sales were estimated to be $65 billion, of which 88% was used for agriculture.<ref name=":18">{{Cite book |url=https://www.unep.org/resources/report/environmental-and-health-impacts-pesticides-and-fertilizers-and-ways-minimizing |title=Environmental and Health Impacts of Pesticides and Fertilizers and Ways of Minimizing Them. Envisioning A Chemical-Safe World |publisher=United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] |year=2022 |chapter=Chapter 2. Status and trends of pesticide use |chapter-url=https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/40351/Pesticides_Ch2.pdf}}</ref> ChemChina (with subsidiaries Syngenta and Adama), Bayer Crop Science, BASF and Corteva Agriscience together represented about 60 per cent of the agricultural pesticide market in 2018.<ref name=":18" />
In 2018 120 million tons (Mt) of nitrogen (elemental), 44 Mt of phosphorus (P<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>), and 45 Mt of potassium (K<sub>2</sub>O) fertilizers were used.<ref name=":182">{{Cite book |url=https://www.unep.org/resources/report/environmental-and-health-impacts-pesticides-and-fertilizers-and-ways-minimizing |title=Environmental and Health Impacts of Pesticides and Fertilizers and Ways of Minimizing Them. Envisioning A Chemical-Safe World |publisher=United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] |year=2022 |chapter=Chapter 7. Status and Trends of Fertilizer Use |chapter-url=https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/40351/Pesticides_Ch7.pdf}}</ref> Global sales revenues for inorganic fertilizers in 2018 were reported to be about US$151 billion.<ref name=":182" /> In the case of nitrogen and phosphorus, China, the United States, India, and Russia dominate production capacity. Canada is by far the biggest producer of potassium. In each country only a few manufacturers dominate the market, and they are different in each county, and different to the pesticide companies.<ref name=":182" />
Other agrochemicals have smaller sales figures.
== History == Compost and manure were used historically as fertilizer. Manufacture of inorganic fertilizers started in the early 20th century, with a huge increase in production over the second half of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smil |first=Vaclav |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9FljcEASycC |title=Enriching the Earth: Fritz Haber, Carl Bosch, and the Transformation of World Food Production |date=2004 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=9780262693134}}</ref>
Inorganic pesticides were used thousands of years ago in Sumeria and China.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Unsworth |first=John |date=10 May 2010 |title=History of Pesticide Use |url=http://agrochemicals.iupac.org/index.php?option=com_sobi2&sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=3&sobi2Id=31&Itemid=19 |website=International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry}}</ref> The manufacture of organic chemical pesticides started in the middle of the 20th century. The majority of pesticides were developed in the late 20th century, and their use expanded greatly during the Green Revolution.<ref name="Carvalho 2006 pp. 685–692">{{cite journal |last=Carvalho |first=Fernando P. |year=2006 |title=Agriculture, pesticides, food security and food safety |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=9 |issue=7–8 |pages=685–692 |bibcode=2006ESPol...9..685C |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2006.08.002 |issn=1462-9011}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Devi |first1=P. Indira |last2=Manjula |first2=M. |last3=Bhavani |first3=R.V. |date=2022-10-17 |title=Agrochemicals, Environment, and Human Health |journal=Annual Review of Environment and Resources |language=en |volume=47 |issue=1 |pages=399–421 |doi=10.1146/annurev-environ-120920-111015 |issn=1543-5938 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
== Application process == {{Main|Pesticide application}}
Agrochemicals can be applied in several ways.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Matthews |first1=G. A. |title=Pesticide Application Methods 4th Edition |last2=Bateman |first2=Roy |last3=Miller |first3=Paul |publisher=Wiley Blackwell |year=2014 |isbn=9781118351284 |edition=4th |location=9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UK |doi=10.1002/9781118351284}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bessin |first=Ric |date=2016 |title=Pesticide Application Equipment and Methods |url=https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/PSEP/14appequip2.html |access-date=9 July 2025 |website=Kentucky Pesticide Safety Education Program. University of Kentucky}}</ref> Conventional application methods include foliar sprays, and root drenches, broadcasting of granules, and seed coating.
== Ecological toxicity == {{Main|Agricultural pollution|Environmental impact of pesticides}}
Agrochemicals, especially when improperly used or released in local environments, have led to a number of public health and environmental issues.<ref name=":1" /> Agrochemicals and their production can be significant environmental pollution.<ref name=":1" /> Agrochemicals are responsible for significant damage to waterways through runoff, and inproperly stored agrochemicals and agrochemical wastes are responsible for spills, especially during extreme weather events.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Anenberg |first1=Susan C. |last2=Kalman |first2=Casey |date=May 2019 |title=Extreme Weather, Chemical Facilities, and Vulnerable Communities in the U.S. Gulf Coast: A Disastrous Combination |journal=GeoHealth |language=en |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=122–126 |bibcode=2019GHeal...3..122A |doi=10.1029/2019GH000197 |issn=2471-1403 |pmc=7038901 |pmid=32159036}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> Following the publication of Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'', increased global attention has been paid to these ecological impacts of certain classes of chemicals, both in terms of effects on ecosystems and biodiversity loss.
Many agrochemicals are toxic, and agrochemicals in bulk storage may pose significant environmental and/or health risks, particularly in the event of accidental spills. In many countries, use of agrochemicals is highly regulated. Government-issued permits for purchase and use of approved agrochemicals may be required. Significant penalties can result from misuse, including improper storage resulting in spillage. On farms, proper storage facilities and labeling, emergency clean-up equipment and procedures, and safety equipment and procedures for handling, application and disposal are often subject to mandatory standards and regulations. Usually, the regulations are carried out through the registration process.
For instance, bovine somatotropin, though widely used in the United States, is not approved in Canada and some other jurisdictions as there are concerns for the health of cows using it.
== Alternatives == Several systems of farming use reduced amounts or no agrochemicals. They include sustainable agriculture, organic farming, biodynamic farming, agroecology,<ref>{{Citation |last1=Ganguly |first1=Ram K. |title=Chapter 2 - Impact of agrochemical application in sustainable agriculture |date=2021-01-01 |work=New and Future Developments in Microbial Biotechnology and Bioengineering |pages=15–24 |editor-last=Verma |editor-first=Jay Prakash |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B978044464325400002X |access-date=2024-10-31 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-444-64325-4 |last2=Mukherjee |first2=Arpan |last3=Chakraborty |first3=Susanta K. |last4=Verma |first4=Jay Prakash |editor2-last=Macdonald |editor2-first=Catriona A. |editor3-last=Gupta |editor3-first=Vijai Kumar |editor4-last=Podile |editor4-first=Appa Rao}}</ref> vertical farming ,<ref name="Marks2014">{{Cite news |last=Marks |first=Paul |date=15 January 2014 |title=Vertical farms sprouting all over the world |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129524-100-vertical-farms-sprouting-all-over-the-world/ |access-date=8 March 2018 |work=New Scientist}}</ref> tillage, polyculture, permaculture, intercropping, regenerative agriculture, organopónicos, hydroponics, nutrient cycling, shifting cultivation, crop rotation, soil steaming, biofumigation, precision agriculture, companion planting, mixed cropping, composting, biological pest control, integrated farming, integrated pest management, mulching, biointensive agriculture, natural farming, plant breeding, genetically modified crops, precision agriculture.
==See also== *Index of pesticide articles *Agricultural chemistry *Ecocide *Eutrophication *National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) *Nutrient pollution
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Agricultural chemistry}} *{{cite web | title=Agricultural Chemical Usage - Chemical Distribution Rate - ID: t722h8817 - USDA Economics, Statistics and Market Information System | website=Publication | date=December 23, 2005 | url=https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/t722h8817?locale=en | ref={{sfnref | Publication | 2005}} | access-date=July 23, 2020}}
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Category:Agricultural chemicals Category:Environmental chemistry Category:Industrial agriculture Category:Nutrient pollution Category:Organic farming